


Bye Bye Baby

by robinasnyder



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Human!Lucifer, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Kid Fic, M/M, Prostitution, Season/Series 08 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-02
Updated: 2013-08-02
Packaged: 2017-12-22 03:55:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/908607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robinasnyder/pseuds/robinasnyder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Angels have fallen from the sky. Hell is very much still open. They have the King of Hell in their basement and a shell shocked prophet in their living room. Sam doesn't really need any more complications in his life. What he needs least of all is a very alive, very human, very emaciated Lucifer and a four year old girl who won't stop calling Lucifer "Daddy."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amayakumiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amayakumiko/gifts).



"I don't know, it just doesn't seem right," Sam said quietly to Dean.

"You think?" Dean hissed. Sam had only just gotten healed. They had the King of Hell in their basement, Kevin was refusing to leave the house and angels had fallen from the sky only a few weeks ago. Nothing was okay about anything. And now they had the devil tied to a chair.

It was wrong the second they'd found him. He was wearing a long sleeved shirt for one thing. For a second even with his arms and torso being covered he still looked emaciated. Sam could see his collar bone jutting out, and his cheeks looked gaunt. For a third he'd been painfully easy to snatch. He didn't blow them up. He didn't threaten them. He just got knocked out.

They had holy oil in the ready, but it was a pain in the ass to get and with Cas MIA, and angels on earth, it was better not to waste it. But Lucifer was still knocked out. They'd tied him to a chair in a room that had anti-angel and demon symbols everywhere.

Lucifer started to stir. Sam tightened his grip on the jug as Lucifer slowly roused. Lucifer blinked, his head lolling a bit before he raised his head. He looked exhausted and his eyes didn't quite seem to focus. Slowly, slowly he looked at them, and when it looked like he recognized them, he looked afraid.

"No, no," Lucifer moaned. "No, I can't be here."

"Yeah," Sam started, trying to sound braver than he was feeling. "Where you are."

"Please," Lucifer said. His licked his over chapped lips. "Please, don't kill me. I can't die yet." He looked exhausted, like he could barely keep his head up.

"Yeah, right," Dean snorted. But he wasn't getting closer and neither was Sam.

"Please," Lucifer. He looked Sam in the eye and shifted his gaze. Sam guessed from the way Dean stiffened next to him that Lucifer met Dean's gaze. His eyes seemed a lot more sunken in than Sam remembered. And his vessel didn't look like it was melting. It looked like he was starving.

"Yeah, you tried to end the world and kill all of us. You took Sam to Hell with you. You're the reason everything screwed up in the first place. Why shouldn't we try to stop you from doing any more damage?"

Lucifer started to cough. Not just a little cough, but hacking, like his lungs wanted to come up. Sam didn't get closer, though he did make an aborted motion. Dean did too, for that matter. Lucifer coughed for a long while. When he could breathe again it sounded ragged, and his voice sounded raw and broken.

"Please. I can't do any more damage, but you're going to if you keep me here," Lucifer said in a soft voice.

"Oh, what, you don't show up and someone sets off a demon bomb?" Dean sneered.

Lucifer shook his head. "No. It's my daughter. It's Kate. Please, she's only four. I can't leave her alone. I'm all she has. I can't let her be alone again. Please, just let me go."

"Did you say daughter?" Sam asked.

"What the hell kind of lie is that?" Dean snapped.

Lucifer started coughing again. He shook his head when he stopped. "Not a lie," he said. "Please, in my wallet."

"Sam," Dean said when Sam started to walk forward. "Sam!" Dean snapped louder.

"It's fine, Dean, I've got holy oil and a lighter," Sam said. "Which pocket?" he asked Lucifer.

Lucifer looked right up at him as he got close. Sam would describe the look as begging. He'd never even conceived that Lucifer could beg for anything, that his pride would ever allow it. But he was begging now.

"Front left," Lucifer said.

Sam reached his hand in and pulled out a thin wallet. He walked back and handed Dean the holy oil so he could look through it. It was canvas, and cheap, something bought at Walmart at best. Sam shook it and heard nothing except the zipper pull clinking against the zipper. He opened the zipper part and saw no coins.

The inside of the wallet produced even less. There was a picture of a little Hispanic girl with wide brown eyes. There was no driver's license, though there was a grocery store card on the inside. Sam looked through more pockets. There was a card for an ice cream store that looked like it was one use away from someone getting a free ice cream. There were two ticket stubs, one for Epic and one for Iron Man 3. There were a few receipts. That was it.

"There's no money in here," Sam said.

"Used it to buy groceries, which I assume are laying back on the sidewalk from where you abducted me. I have to insist you pay me back for that," Lucifer said.

"Seriously?" Dean asked, because really, Sam also couldn't believe the devil was buying groceries.

"10.27$," Lucifer said. "Got to have it. Can't get by without it."

"We're talking about killing you and you're worried about ten dollars?" Dean asked.

Lucifer turned his glare on Dean, which somehow looked much more terrifying on Lucifer's now gaunt face. "I have to make sure Kate has food, and I can't let myself starve."

"Dude, you look starved already," Dean pointed out.

"Can't help that," Lucifer said, but he sounded bitter.

"Dean," Sam said quietly. "Maybe you should go check this out."

"And leave you alone? No way," Dean hissed.

"Dean, if there really is a little girl, then what?"

"I just… damn, Sam, it's Lucifer."

"I know, and I still have holy oil and all kinds of precautions," Sam pointed out. "Here, just take the wallet with you, maybe she'll recognize it."

"Yeah, yeah," Dean said, taking the wallet. "Hey, where do you have the kid stashed?"

"Are you going to hurt her?" Lucifer asked quickly.

"Is she a normal kid?" Dean asked.

"She's human, full human," Lucifer said.

"Then I'm not gonna hurt her. Now, where is she?"

"Three blocks from the grocery store," Lucifer said. "She's at the old apartment complex, second floor. Tell her 'Gabriel'."

"Gabriel?" Sam asked.

"Safe word," Lucifer said. He was practically bent in half in his bonds, from what looked like exhaustion. "Just don't hurt her."

"I won't!" Dean snapped "I'll be back soon, Sam. Don't take your eyes off him."

"I won't, I promise," Sam said.

* * *

Dean didn't have a hard time finding the place. Sure, it was the in the slums, like the slum slums, but it wasn't hard to find. He did not want to leave Baby out for too long. There were already a bunch of guys looking around like they wanted to jack it. He shot them a look and went inside. Sam had texted him the exact address after he'd gotten it from Lucifer.

Dean practically ran up the stairs. The faster he got the girl and left the better it would be for his car. He knocked on the door when he got to the right place. No one answered.

"Kate?" Dean called. "Lucifer sent me. He said to tell you "Gabriel"?" He actually couldn't believe Lucifer would have the gall to use that. But a minute later there was the sound of a dragging chair and latches being undone. Then the chair was moved away.

"Okay," little girl's voice said.

Dean opened the door. The girl in question was small for her age. She was dressed him clothes that clearly came from the thrift store, but she had the wide brown eyes from the picture.

"Where's daddy?" she asked.

"He's uh, a bit tied up," Dean said. She just looked confused. "He's busy, but I need you to come with me."

"Can I see daddy?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna take you to him," Dean said, bending down so he could see her.

"Are we moving again?" she asked.

"Yeah," Dean said. No way in hell he was sending this kid back to this shit hole. It probably had rats. "Get your bag."

"Okay," the girl said. She ran back to a bedroom, and Dean followed her. There was only one bed. She moved around quickly and Dean realized that even younger than he'd been, she was already used to having to move around. Her bag was practically packed, and she put a few of her things and a few sweaters in a duffle bag.

Dean could remember his dad very specifically showing him what to pack so they wouldn't forget anything. It made his mouth go a little dry seeing a little girl taking the same care Dean had learned to take.

"I'll zip this," he said, bending over to get the duffle bag. He struggled to close it because the zipper sucked and then because it was stuck on a book, he frowned and pulled one out. It said _Changing Channels_ on the cover, and said "Carver Edlund" at the bottom.

"The hell?" he asked and turned it over, skimming down the back. "The trickster returns," Dean said, his eyes lingering on the words before he flipped it open. It took him about a minute into reading about him being shot before Dean realized he was reading about their adventures in TV Land.

He put the book aside and dug a little more. They were used, but there were four of them, all of them featuring Gabriel.

"What'er you doin?" the girl asked.

"Nothing," Dean said and put the books back. He zipped up the bag and tossed it over his shoulder and took her bag too, because really it was too big for her to be carrying. In her arms was a really poorly made purple bunny, like the kind that came from a claw machine. The girl, Kate, hugged the bunny tightly and followed Dean outside.

"Hey, fuck off," Dean snapped to the guys who were poking around his car. They ran off the second they saw him come. He dropped the bags in the back before buckling Kate in the back as well.

"When can I see daddy?" She asked.

"Soon, just give me a bit," he said. He got in the driver's seat, texting Sam that they were on their way.

* * *

"They're on their way," Sam said. Lucifer sagged in his bonds like he was relieved. "How'd you get a little girl anyway?"

"I killed her family," Lucifer said. "Not on purpose he added quickly."

"How do you accidentally kill a girl's family?"

"When I got out of the cage, it was a pretty nasty crash I caused. She was the only one left not dead or about to die," Lucifer said quietly. "I was curious for a moment. Her mother grabbed my arm and told me I had to take her child. I felt a momentary pity and decided to take her someplace else but the middle of nowhere."

"But?" Sam asked.

"She cried into my shirt and wouldn't let go," Lucifer said quietly. "And I couldn't leave her alone." The way Lucifer said 'alone' made Sam shiver. Lucifer sounded dead for a moment.

"Why do you look so sick?" Sam asked.

"My father's cosmic joke," Lucifer murmured. "Give me something I want to protect and take away my means with which to do it."

Sam could see that too. Lucifer wasn't struggling against the bonds, it was just rope. He shouldn't have passed out. He shouldn't look so sick.

"Please," Lucifer said. "I have to see her, please," he murmured.

"No way," Sam said. Lucifer winced like he'd been hit.

"Please," Lucifer tried again.

"No," Sam snapped and Lucifer winced again, hanging his head.

"Than at least do me the favor of taking care of her," Lucifer said. "If you're going to kill me, I have to know she'll be taken care of."

Sam was about to ask Lucifer why he'd ever do a favor for him, but Lucifer looked up and his eyes held more hate that Sam had ever seen from him. Lucifer didn't look at him with hate. He didn't look at anyone with hate. Disgust? Oh yeah. Derision? Often. Sadness? Always. But with Sam it had always been tenderness, until, of course, the hallucinations. But even the hallucination never glared at him like that. Sam hadn't been able to fathom it, even when his mental breakdown was at its worst.

"Alright," Sam agreed. Lucifer relaxed again. He shifted around in bonds, clearly trying to get comfortable. "So, why aren't you zapping out of here?"

"Can't," Lucifer said.

"Oh, the sigils are good?" Sam asked.

"No, you've misspelled at least half of them," Lucifer said. "I just can't."

"I don't understand," Sam said. Well, he did understand, but that didn't mean it was easy to understand.

"I'm human, Sam," Lucifer said. Lucifer had practically said it before, but Sam needed to near it.

"You know I can't let you out, right?" Sam said.

"I know," Lucifer said. "I know you think so. I'm not threat to you or anyone." And as if to prove it he started coughing again.

"Not a really good act."

"It's," Lucifer wheezed. "Not an act."

"Come on, you just happen to be sick when we catch you?"

Lucifer was glaring at him. "Do you think I would do this for sympathy. I have the flu. It won't go away because the only place I can afford sucks, but at least there isn't mold in the walls. I haven't eaten a real meal in weeks. I'm broke, I'm tired, and no one wants someone to suck them off when they're hacking up a lung, which means I can afford to get better and I can't afford to get sick."

Sam stared at Lucifer. With anyone else it would have been a believable story. It was just that it was Lucifer. Forget how much coughing he was doing. Forget how pale and thin he looked. Forget the angry, bitter growl that he spoke in. The only thing that chipped at Sam's wall of disbelief is the shame he saw in Lucifer's eyes.

"It's a bad way to raise a child," Sam said. But he was just testing now.

"Shut up, shut up!" Lucifer shouted. He started straining against his bonds. He looked rabid, like if the chair wasn't bolted down that he'd already be at Sam's throat. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Lucifer started to cough again. It was hacking. Sam was actually surprised when Lucifer didn't have blood on his lips or in his teeth. "I know, I know," Lucifer whispered.

"Can I get you some water?" Sam asked.

"Please," Lucifer nearly whimpered.

Against his better judgment, because he had offered, Sam left the room and went up to the kitchen. Before he even got to the sink Kevin was at his heels.

"Sam, what's going on? Dean wouldn't tell me anything?"

To be fair, Kevin was more than a bit shell shocked from the past year. He was supposed to be in college. Instead he was hiding out in a bunker waiting for what he felt like was the world ending.

"We've got someone really powerful trapped. Don't worry," Sam said.

"Oh yeah, you go a big bad in your basement, two actually, and you tell me not to worry? Fantastic!" Kevin said.

"They're all tied up tight. Just leave Crowley alone. He needs time to stew," Sam said, pulling out a big glass and starting to fill it up.

"And what about the other guy?"

"I'm working on him," Sam said. He filled it to near the top and turned off the water.

"Who's that for?"

"The other guy. He's got a bad cough." Sam knew it was stupid even when it came out of his mouth. Kevin opened and shut his mouth and then shook his head.

"Useless," Kevin muttered as he walked off. Sam winced. He could probably hold Kevin's questions off for a few more hours. He just wasn't ready to tell the kid they had Lucifer in their basement and he may or may not be human.

He headed back to where they had Lucifer tied up. Lucifer's head was resting on his shoulder now. He slowly opened his eyes when Sam came back in. Sam didn't pick up the jug of holy oil to carry it with him when he got close to Lucifer because he'd forgot it back in the kitchen. He pressed the glass to Lucifer's lips, tipping it up a little at a time. Lucifer drank like a man dying of thirst.

"Your water not working?" Sam guessed when Lucifer drained the glass.

"Tastes awful," Lucifer said. "Fine for cooking, but Ii wouldn't drink it."

"Yeah, probably has something in it," Sam said. He looked down at his phone, which was beeping.

"Are they here?" Lucifer asked anxiously.

Sam didn't answer. He left to open the front door for Dean, who said he had his hands full. He did have two bags, and a small girl at his feet.

"Daddy?" the girl asked quietly. "Please?" she asked. Her eyes were wide, brown, and already filling with tears. Dean was the one who was good with kids, but even Sam could figure out how hard it was going to be to tell her no.

"Not right now, kiddo," Dean said.

The girl puffed up in anger, and Sam was reminded of Lucifer's angry looks. He knew they weren't related, but that didn't mean that the little girl didn't do a very good imitation. "You said! You said!" she told Dean.

"Yeah, I know what I said, but you just can't right now," Dean informed her.

"Why?" she pressed.

"You just can't," Dean said.

"Want to see Daddy," she said like that was the end of it.

"You can't," Sam said.

"He's not feeling well right now," Dean added. "He doesn't want you to get sick too."

"He's already sick," the girl said, glaring at Dean. "Don't lie. It's wrong. Grandpa doesn't like it when you lie."

"Grandpa?" Sam asked.

"I want daddy, now," she said and stamped her foot.

"You can't see him," Dean said. He gave Sam a long suffering look. She'd probably been like that the whole way over. Sam sighed heavily and run a hand through his hair. "Hey, Sam, where's the holy oil?"

"Ah, in the kitchen," Sam said. "I'll go get it."

"Why, Sam, why is there holy oil in the kitchen?" Dean asked.

"I was cooking a snack," Sam said. Dean rolled his eyes. "He was nearly coughing up a lung, I got him some water."

"You got him some- Hey! Get back here!"

Sam whipped around, seeing the girl take off down the hall, starting to scream "Daddy, daddy!" She was already down the hall and around the corner before Dean spotted her slipping away. Dean took off after her and then Sam started off.

She was fast and had a head start, though Dean would catch her. Not that She'd find Lucifer. Except to Sam's horror he could hear Lucifer's voice and he realized he'd left the door open to the room they had Lucifer in. The girl suddenly picked up speed and dove down a corridor.

"Shit," Sam heard Dean say. Sam and Dean rounded the corner to the room they had Lucifer in it.

The girl had run to Lucifer. She gripped onto his knees, crying into them. Lucifer was bent over as much as he could, trying to get to her. Even over the little girl's sobs Sam could hear Lucifer murmuring something to her.

"Dammit, kid," Dean muttered, trying to catch his breath. He took one last breath and straightened up. "Ok, come on kid, you saw him, now we have to go."

"No!" the girl shouted. She turned and glared at them. Lucifer was glaring at them two. Sam couldn't but see the similarities.

"Kate," Lucifer said, using a firm but gentle voice. "Stop."

"Daddy," she said, turning to face him.

"Stop," he said softer. "It's okay. I always make it okay, don't I?"

"Yes," she said quietly. She scaled his knees, climbing up into his lap. She wrapped her arms around Lucifer and buried her head in his shirt. Sam felt like he couldn't breathe. He had no idea how thin Lucifer was. His hands, face collar bone looked bad enough, and Sam had been able to tell he was too thin when they'd tied him down. But Sam hadn't thought about it really. But Kate's grip showed just how little Lucifer weighed around the middle now.

Sam looked at Dean, who was already looking at him. "It's a bad idea," Sam said quietly.

"Sam, look at them," Dean said even softer. "We can't let them go."

"But we can get them some grilled cheese," Sam pointed out.

"Fair," Dean said with a shrug. "Okay, fine, you pass the test," he said loud. He grabbed a knife and walked to Lucifer. Lucifer looked distrustful, but he couldn't do anything. He bent over more like that could protect the little girl in his lap.

Sam could see Lucifer's shock when Dean cut through the ropes. Lucifer didn't even try to shed the ropes. The second his hands were free his arms wrapped around the girl in his lap. Dean pulled the rope off of them. Lucifer was glaring at them, but his wrists had serious rope burn. He'd been fighting to get out, but unable to.

"You know we can't let you leave," Sam said. He noticed how Lucifer squeezed Kate tighter to his chest.

"I understand," Lucifer said. His voice sounded colder than anything Sam was used to hearing from him.

"But we do have extra rooms," Sam said. "Dean, do you want to make lunch, and I show them around?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Dean said. He was looking at Lucifer distrustfully as well.

"Good, then I'll show you to your rooms," Sam said.

Lucifer stood up stiffly. His stride was still the same, though broken by a limp. Sam wasn't certain if that was stiffness from hours tied to a chair, or just what. They'd almost not snatched Lucifer because of the wrongness in his gait earlier.

"Lead on," Lucifer said.


	2. Chapter 2

Kevin was waiting for Dean when Dean arrived in the kitchen. "So, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Dean said. "We've just got two more mouths to feed is all."

"Yeah," Kevin said, disbelief in his voice. "Sam said it was nothing too, except that there was another guy locked up in here."

Dean sighed heavily. "Okay, it's not nothing, but it's weird, like even for us weird."

"How weird is that?" Kevin asked.

"I'm making grilled cheese for the devil, who is human now, by the way, and he also looks like an extreme anorexic, except he's hacking up a lung and he's got a four year old girl."

Kevin was silent for a moment. Dean could practically see Kevin running over all the words again in his mind, like he'd mistranslated his native language or something. "That's a joke right."

"I've been asking myself the same thing. But for real, I am making grilled cheese, do you want one?"

"I feel like I deserve one after all this," Kevin said.

"You and me both," Dean muttered.

He and Kevin had a system when it came to the kitchen. They both knew how to use it, and when one of them wanted something they could, but if they were both in the kitchen they were helping each other out. Kevin got out two different types of cheese while Dean made sure the butter was melted in the bottom of the pans he was using and began to butter the bread. Dean put bread in a pan, Kevin put the cheese down, Dean put the other piece of bread on and Kevin put a lid on top.

"How many are we making?" Kevin asked.

"You and Sam get one each, I'm making two for Lucifer, and one for the kid, and one for me."

"This is weird," Kevin said.

"I told you so," Dean muttered. But Lucifer really did look like he needed not just a second grilled cheese, but a whole bunch of sandwiches.

"All set?" Dean called when he heard footsteps out on in the hall.

"Yeah," Sam said.

"Come on Kate, let's sit," Lucifer said. Dean glanced over his shoulder to see Lucifer picking up the little girl and putting her in a chair. She really wasn't quite tall enough to sit in the chair, so Lucifer sat down and held her in his lap. The little girl glared at them all.

"Staring's not nice," she said. Dean nearly jumped until he realized that it was Kevin she was talking about.

Dean laughed. "You hear her. Look, cut up some apples or something." Kevin flushed a bit and set about his new task. "Sam, can you get everyone drinks."

"Uh, yeah, sure," Sam said. "Uh, what does everyone want?"

"Water's fine," Kevin said.

"Water," Lucifer said quietly.

"Milk," Kate said. "We want milk."

Lucifer looked down at the girl in his lap. Dean could almost see the battle of wills happening. "Milk," Lucifer finally said.

"Beer," Dean said, though he really didn't need to because Sam had gotten two out already. Today was really a whiskey kind of day, but there was a kid in the room, so beer would have to do.

"S'bad for you," Kate told Dean like she was telling him something he didn't know.

"She's right," Lucifer said. Dean turned to glare at him. "Milk's much healthier. Keeps your bone strong."

"Milk," Kate said with a big an expectant smile. "Drink milk," she ordered.

"You've probably told her she can take over the world too," Dean muttered. "Milk," he added to Sam. Sam was giving him a look, but Dean didn't care. He wasn't going to get into a battle of wills with a little girl. And they had sort of tied up her dad and lied to her. Better to get the groveling stage over.

"She knows she can, but only if she has a proper plan," Lucifer said. "Thank you," he added, taking the glass Sam poured him and taking a large gulp.

"Thank you," Kate said loudly.

"Is it too much to hope you boy have straws? Or cups with lids?" Lucifer asked. "Guess not," he said when he got blank stares from all around. "Kate, be careful." He held the girl's glass so she could drink from it, though she also held it with both hands.

"Dean, the sandwiches," Kevin said.

"Crap," Dean muttered. He pulled the lids off and quickly started flipping them over. "This burnt one's mine," Dean said. The rest were a little black, but not badly.

Dean focused on the sandwiches better after that. They had four burners and he was making six sandwiches. He heard another round of 'thank you's behind him. He guessed that Kevin handed out the apples. When he got the first round out, he left the last two to Kevin for a moment, and cut up the most perfect one into fours, setting it in front of Kate, putting the other three at the other seats,

"Thank you," Kate said. She reached for her sandwich. Lucifer took the plate and held it close so she could reach better. She probably could have done it on her own, and Dean considered saying it. But he'd also threatened to keep the two separated. He understood needing to be a little over protective after that.

"Go eat," he told Kevin, working on the last two sandwiches. They didn't take too long to finish. He set them in front of Lucifer, who look surprised and distrustful.

"Just eat it, man. You're all skin and bones," Dean said, going for his own seat. His sandwich was a lot cooler than it had been before because he was cooking for other people.

Lunch progressed pretty silently. Kevin was looking at all of them nervously. Sam kept glancing at Lucifer and Kate like he was pretending to not look. Lucifer was focused on Kate in between bites of his sandwiches, which were disappearing in record time. Kate kept glaring at Sam, especially whenever he took a sip of his beer. Dean nearly smirked. Sam was such an amateur when it came to kids.

Lucifer finished last. Kevin was already up washing dishes. Kate was dozing in Lucifer's lap. A very gentle smile came to his face. "Come on, darling, time for a nap."

"Story?" She murmured.

"Maybe a little one," Lucifer said, standing up and carrying the little girl out.

"So, that's the devil?" Kevin asked once they left.

"Yeah," Sam said. "It's definitely him."

"He doesn't seem scary," Kevin said.

"Well, last time we saw him he was trying to take over the world and kill everyone with a zombie virus using Sam's body," Dean said.

"The last time you saw him. The last time I saw him was a look like trying to kill me," Sam said.

"Don't remind me," Dean said with a groan.

"Point being that anything that ever happened bad in this world can in some way be traced back to him," Sam said.

"I don't know, he looked pretty normal to me," Kevin said. "I mean this place is all kinds of warded, so it should be safe, right?"

"Right," Sam and Dean said together.

* * *

Sam doesn't feel like it's going to be okay. That's all he can think when he makes breakfast in the morning. Crowley's still downstairs, for one thing. For some reason that's terrifying him a lot more in the morning than it did the previous night. Abaddon is somewhere, seeing how freaked she was when she heard Lucifer was gone meant that they suddenly had a very important playing chip sitting in their house.

Because if Abaddon or Crowley gets ahold of him it's not going to end good for the Winchesters. It'll probably end worse for Kate, who refused to have her own room when Sam tried to take her to it the previous day. Of course it made sense, after all, they'd tied her dad up and kept her from him. If something happened to her, Sam imagined Lucifer would find a way to get his powers back just to smite whoever hurt her.

"Are you making breakfast?"

Sam jumped, spinning around. Lucifer was in a pair of pajama pants only. He looked terrifyingly sick. Sam could see his ribs. "When was the last time you ate?" Sam asked.

"Yesterday," Lucifer said, helping Kate up into a chair.

"No, before that."

"The night before," Lucifer said.

"Do we need to put you on a drip of some kind?" Sam asked. Lucifer didn't look like runway model skinny yet, but he did not look healthy. He'd noticed Lucifer sharing half of his sandwich with Kate the previous night.

"It's just the cold," Lucifer said. "I didn't eat because I was sick."

"Were you sick last night?" Sam asked, hearing the worry in his own voice.

"The sanctity of your toilets is still intact," Lucifer said, rolling his eyes.

"Lucifer," Sam snapped. Kate and Lucifer turned the same cold look on him.

"I'm fine. I feel better than I did yesterday," Lucifer said, sitting down.

"Yeah," Sam said, like he didn't believe him. He watched for a moment while Lucifer tugged on Kate's little braids (which she didn't have the previous day). She giggled and reached for his hands, kissing his fingers whenever she caught them. Lucifer would jerk his hand back and she would giggle and try to grab for them again. If it ever seemed like she was off balance too badly Lucifer would grab for her to be certain she wouldn't fall.

Sam nearly laughed at the panicked look that crossed Lucifer's face when Kate looked for a half second like she'd fall. She probably would have caught herself, but Lucifer treated sort of like she was fragile. Which she would be for an archangel, and not that little kids couldn't be fragile, but Sam remembered Dean talking about how much he fell down as a kid and would only cry if Dean or Dad was looking.

Kate dove for Lucifer, her little princess night gown riding up about her legs. She was unashamed and unselfconscious in a way that only a little kid can be. It made Sam smile, seeing something innocent, especially when she tried to scale Lucifer, who would patiently sit her back down in his lap, over and over.

Sam had been thinking about cooking, but not really doing it because he'd been busy thinking instead. Now that he was focused on cooking his brain switched to about every article he'd ever read on health. He started with the eggs, popping bread into the toasted as he went. Dean was better at cooking than Sam, like way better, but Sam could make an edible and fairly decent breakfast.

When he finished he put the plates down in front of Lucifer and Kate, cheese egg and toast with peanut butter and jelly, and went to get milk.

"I'm not certain this is the best combination," Lucifer said. Sam had put a lot more eggs on his plate, and his toast was two slices making a sandwich instead of one piece of toast folded over like Sam had given to Kate.

"Just eat," Sam said, going to get them both milk. "We'll go to the grocery store later today, is there anything I can get you?"

"How about we start with pen and paper so I can make you a list?" Lucifer said. "I can tell already you're woefully under stocked."

Sam rather wished he could punch Lucifer. His head reeled back a bit when he realized he could. Lucifer was human, sick, and underfed. Sam could do anything to Lucifer and no one could stop him. He could probably even make Lucifer do anything so long as they kept Kate safe. It would be so easy to take advantage.

Sam's eyes focused and he realized that Lucifer was staring at him, because Sam had been staring at him. "Yeah, yeah, don't be such a smart ass," Sam said, setting the glasses down in front of Lucifer.

"Language," Lucifer warned. He kept one arm around Kate and the other he used to feed her.

"Here, I can help," Sam said, sitting down next to them. He held his hands out. Kate and Lucifer looked at him with twin looks of distrust.

"I don't know," Lucifer said. "Have you ever dealt with kids before?"

"Of course," Sam said.

"Watching Dean do it doesn't count," Lucifer said.

"I took care of a baby shifter for a while," Sam protested.

"What happened to it?" Lucifer asked, his tone dead-pan.

"The other shifters took it back."

"Okay," Lucifer did not sound like he believed him. "Have you ever taken care of a four year old?"

"It'll be fine. You're right here. I'm not going to pitch her across the room of anything," Sam snorted.

Lucifer sighed heavily and handed Kate over. "Kate, be nice, he's not very good at this."

"It'll be fine."

* * *

It wasn't, in fact, fine. Sam had to take a shower to get all the jelly off him, and Lucifer had to give Kate a bath in the one bathtub the bunker had. Lucifer assured Sam that his food at been at least warm while he was eating it. Sam was still scowling about having needed the Devil to comfort his wounded pride.

Lucifer made it look so easy too. Kate just sort of did what he wanted. Which made sense, since Sam was now certain she was evil.

"Hey, Sam, why is there peanut butter on the ceiling?" Dean asked when he came in and found Sam scrubbing the floor.

"It was one piece of toast. How can any child make so much of a mess?" Sam demanded.

"Did Lucifer let you hold the kid?" Dean asked. Sam glared at him. He could hear Dean's smirk before he even saw it.

"Yes," Sam said through gritted teeth.

"Sam, she's four. Four year olds are holy terrors."

" I thought they were supposed to be terrible twos."

"Dude, it's terrible all the way up to, and including, 18," Dean said, stepping over Sam to get to the fridge.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sam asked, finally able to get off his knees. Or he thought so until he took a step and it was still sticky. He went to the sink and washed out his cloth before getting back on his hands and knees to scrub.

"Because, I mean, what was I supposed to say?" Dean asked. "You'd have apologized and that wasn't the point. Kids are supposed to suck."

Sam looked up. He sometimes forgot that Dean had raised him, but it hit him hard now. Dean would have been eight when Sam was four. This was what he'd dealt with at eight? "Dean," Sam said.

"No, pack up the pity party. I don't need it, Sam. You turned out just fine and so did I, so what does it matter?"

"Are we interrupting something?" Lucifer asked. He was dressed, again in a long sleeve shirt and jeans, though his feet were bare. Kate walked next to him, holding his hand. She looked sad and near tears.

"No," Dean said.

"Alright then," Lucifer said, pushing Kate forward. "Kate, what do we say?"

"Sorry Mr. Sam," she said quietly, mostly to the floor.

"It's okay," Sam found himself saying, although he was still annoyed. She just looked like she was about to cry and he did not want to be the ass to make her cry.

"Okay," Lucifer said. He scooped the little girl up and carried her to one of the chairs. "Now, sit still for a minute." Then he dropped to his knees and took the cloth from Sam's hand. "I've got it, don't worry."

Sam let him have at it. He sat back on his heels and watched Lucifer go to find a bit of Windex, spraying the tile floor, before scrubbing away the sticky. Sam was more than a little surprised how easily the motions came to Lucifer. He didn't grumble about it. He just did it.

"I used to scrub floors for a while," Lucifer said once he finished with the floors. He looked up at the ceiling. "You guys have a mop, right?"

"Yeah, in the closet," Dean said, pointing to one of the nearby doors. Lucifer went to it instantly. "Hey, kid, you know what will make everything better?"

"No," Kate said, still looking very sad.

"How about you help me bake cookies? Cookies will help make everything better," Dean said.

"Really?" Kate asked, but she was smiling.

"Yep, come on, let's get the stuff out so we won't get in your dad's way."

"Okay," she said, hopping off the chair.

Dean took her to the pantry. Sam stood back, watching Dean pick the girl up so she could see the different ingredients while Dean told her what they were going to need. Sam felt more than a little bit like he'd woken up in the twilight zone.

**Author's Note:**

> This may end up being soap opera level cheesy and I don't even care because I'm enjoying this. And I (holy cow) have the plot written out.


End file.
